Chronicle Editor
Vusumuzi Dube, Senior Reporter
TRADITIONAL leaders in Matobo District have called on the Government to intervene and resolve a mine ownership wrangle between Bulawayo businesswoman, Mrs Siphiwe Gasha-Dube and a mining consortium, Turfwall Mining (Pvt) Ltd.
Mrs Gatsha-Dube was evicted from five mining claims at Legion Mine four years ago after operating at the disputed mine for over 16 years.
High Court Judge Justice Maxwell Takuva in 2016 suspended operations at the mine following an urgent chamber application by Turfwall Mining citing Mrs Gasha-Dube, police and the provincial mining director for Matabeleland South as respondents.
Mrs Gasha-Dube’s eviction came despite having produced 54,2 kilogrammes of gold between 2003 and 2010 which she sold to the Government-owned Fidelity Printers and Refiners. She also won a prize for the Best Female Small-Scale Gold Miner of the Year in 2015 and 2016. On Thursday, traditional leaders, led by Chief Nyangazonke Ndiweni, met Mrs Gasha-Dube and members of the Inhlabathi Ilifa Lethu Consortium, which was also affected by the evictions, where they questioned the manner in which the evictions were handled.
Chief Nyangazonke took a swipe at the new mine owners saying they had been trying to meet their officials together with representatives from Falcon Gold, the original owners of the mine but they had continuously snubbed them.
“As traditional leaders we decided to intervene and try to solve this issue once and for all. Clearly there is something amiss, since they started mining here, we have seen nothing that they have done for the community, actually I have also engaged officials from the Zimbabwe Anti-corruption Commission to investigate happenings at this mine.
“When Mrs Gasha-Dube was operating, she was actively contributing to the livelihoods of the community, empowering the youth and women and also donating food parcels to the needy every two weeks. Now there is none of that, these new owners don’t even employ people from the area, it’s like they are taking the gold to develop other areas, which we will not accept,” said the chief.
Bulawayo Senator Molly Mpofu said she will take the issue to Parliament.
“We have laws that govern this country and if you follow the paper trail relating to this mine, you will find that something is clearly amiss. As the women caucus in Parliament we won’t sit back while a widow is being abused like what is happening here,” said Sen Mpofu.
Narrating her ordeal, Mrs Gasha-Dube revealed she had entered into a three-year tribute agreement to mine in the area in December 2012 and was not aware that Falcon Gold had sold its claims in the Legion Mining area to Turfwall Mining, despite her previously working at the mine. She accused some senior officials in the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development of working with the company to evict her.
“My point of grievance starts with Falcon Gold, they were fully aware that I had been mining at the concern for over 16 years. They actually gave me five tributaries, which were endorsed by the mining commission. When I entered into the tributary agreement with Falcon Gold, I tried in vain to have the claims transferred to my name but the then chief mining commissioner, (name supplied) kept on saying he would rectify this,” said Mrs Gasha-Dube.
She claimed that at one point the mine had been abandoned, with the mining commission threatening to cancel the mining licence leading her to then use her funds to renew it and was then given the notion that she could resume operations.
“I invested over US$800 000 here, got electricity connected, bought machinery, drilled two boreholes, built various facilities, but all this is now lying idle at the mine after they barred me from operating here. The new owners actually told me to just take all my developments and go store them at my house, but the funny part is they are using the electricity which I installed, honestly there is no arrogance which is worse than this,” she said.
Online Reporter